GUNTUR: Lord Amaralingeswara Swamy temple in Amaravati has decked up for Karthika Masam festivities. The temple officials have made elaborate arrangements in view of the high influx of devotees. Considered as a prominent month in the Hindu calendar, Karthika Masam festivities at Amaralingeswara Swamy temple attracts lakhs of devotees from across the State. The temple, also known as Amararamam, is one of the five Shiva temples called Pancharamas. The other four temples include Draksharamam, Somaramam, Ksheeraramam, and Kumararamam in Andhra Pradesh.
Temple Executive Officer (EO) Sunil Kumar mentioned that they had made arrangements to withstand the surge in devotees, including drinking water, portable toilets, lodging, Annadanam and changing rooms among others, and said that they are expecting a daily footfall of over 10,000 pilgrims on normal days and over 15,000 on Sundays and Mondays during the festive month.
Furthermore, the officials have also installed a ‘Charalingam’ in the southern mandapam, allowing the pilgrims to perform Abhishekams. Special queue lines were set up for those devotees visiting all Pancharamas in a day. The temple will remain open till 10 pm on Mondays and till 9 pm on rest of the weekdays.
The EO revealed that over 200 police personnel have been deployed for crowd and traffic management, with CCTV surveillance and added safety measures in place along the Krishna River ghat.
Scheduled rituals in Kartika Masam include Shudhajala Abhishekam, Kumkumarchana to Goddess Balachamundeshwari, Jwalamalika Deepotsavam and Teppotsavam.